Bottle-sealing apparatus.



G. M. CfNIELSEN.' BOTTLE SEALING APPARATUS. v

* APPLICATION FILED MAY@ 1907'.

Patented July 26, 1910.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

G. M. o. NIELSVEN. BOTTLE SEALING APPARATUS. APPLICATION FILED MAY 6,1907.

Patented July 26, 1,910.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 21.v

AGf. M. G. NIBLSBN. y BOTTLE SEALING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 1 965,535. 6 9? Patented July 26,1910.

SSHGWY 5 Y /7//5 l TToH/VEY 69 ya w 'im 69- 7] k j earner ermee.l

GEORGM. C. NELSEN, OF lil/111111315, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSGNOR, BY MESNE.ASIGN- MENTS, T UNTD OGRE M5513 SEAL COMPANY, 0F"

CORPORT N GF MAENE.

ETTL-SEALNG APRATUS.

scenes,

Specification of Letters. Patent.

Application filed May o, 1907,

Patented July 26, 1910n Serial No. 372,204. I

To all whom it may concern' Be it known that l, Gnomi M, C. Nrnnsnn, acitizen of Denmark, and a resident of Millis, in the county of Norfolkand State of Massachusetts, United States of America,

' have invented certain new and useful lm* provements 1n Bottle-SealingApparatus, of

which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to bottle sealing apparatus. i A

. More particularly, it relates to mec ,anism for sealing the mouth of abottle with a cork cap; and it comprises apparatus for feeding caps, oneat a time, to the bottle, aiiixing and :fastening the caps; andincidental mechan- 1 the invention, reference being had to the ac Al,ticular construction companying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a sideelveation of one form of apparatus embodying' the invention, showing` abottle in place to be sealed. Fig. 2 is a rear elevation of the same.Fig. 3 is a plan, in section, on line 3-3 of Fig. 2, some what enlarged,showing the head. Fig. i is an elevation, in section, of part of thehead online 44 of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is an elevation, in section, on line5--5 of Fig. 1, further enlarged7 showing the reciprocating mechanism.Fig. 6 is a front elevation of the head. Fir; 7 isa plan of the same.Fig. 8 is an elevation, in section, on line 8,-8 of Fig. 7. Figs. 9 and10 are iull size elevations, in section, showing different stages in theoperation of sealing the bottle ln the drawings, the invention isrepresented. as it may be embodied in a. machine suitable for closingbottles with cork caps or stoppers'of the general type shown in thepate-nt to Frederick Recht, No. 646,627, dated April 3, 1900; but theinvention is not limited to this particular use, nor to the parhereshown and described.

ln operation, the circular plate 2 (see Figs 3, Li, 9 and 10) is rotateda certain angular distance periodically, thus positioning stopper caps21 successively under head 70,; and 1n the uitervals the stand 19 raisesand forces both bottle and cap into cylin- MIIJLIS, MASSACHUSETTS, 'A'

a bottle against the stopper thusl positioneddrical die 22, bending ordrawing the cap y iiange downward until the wire engages under a bead l)on the bottle.

The frame 11 carries near its base a rec# tangular flange 12, having twojournal boxes 13 for supporting the driving shaft 14; The latter carriesa clutch member 1/6 and. loose driving pulley 15; a cam 17 for operatingthe feed mechanism; and a crank 18 for operat ing the bottle support 19.

' Anya suitable clutch controlling mechan' ism may be employed withoutaffecting the principle'of the invention. ln that here shown, foot lever25, pivoted at 26 to ear 27 dependingI from flange 12, carries a sprin Gcontrolled dog 28, pivoted at 29, positioned to Vengage a lip on a.clutch-disengaging member 30, which is pivotally mounted on' the frameat 31. The member 30 is adapted to control thev action of lug 32, in awell known manner, to cause or to prevent engagement and rotation ofmember 16 and shaft 14 with the constantly rotating pulley 15. Spring 33holds member 30 normally against the clutch member 16, and spring 34holds lever 25 normally up. Clutch lug 32 is caught at each revolutionby the wedge point of 30 and 'thereby drawn out of engagement with itsdriving wheel 15. When toot lever 25 is depressed, carrying dog 28downward and thus swinging the Wedge pointof 30 outward to let lug 32into eny gagement with wheel 15, the tail 37 of dog 28 is arrested byfixed pin 38, and. further depression of lever 25 causes dog 28 to swingaround its pivot 29 until its upper portion is disengaged from member80, whereupon spring 33 draws this member back inward, so that it isagain in. position to intercept lug 30 and open the clutch upon thecompletion ot the iirst revolution of the lug. A raised cam-like portionv3G of clutch member-16 is' provided, and a roller or pin 35 on member-3() is adapted to be engaged and forced outward by it, with the eii'ectof forcing the wedge point of 30 inward into its position for engagingthe lug 32,' or of maintaining it there, despite the possiblecarelessness' of the operator in depressing the lever 25 at the wrongtime, ormaintaining it depressed too long. During a singlecomplete-reviflu- 'tion ofthe clutch a complete cycle of the bottlesealing operations occurs; and the purpose ot' the mechanism lastdescribed is to make sure of a suicient interval for properly insertingla. fresh bottlebefore the ma- 5 chinery starts on the next. v

Any suitable bottle closing mechanism may be used. As 'hererepresented,-the bottle support 19 is guided by ears 41, 41 on frame 11,and is actuated by toggle links 42, 43,

j controlled by connecting rod 44 and crank arm 18 on shaft 14.` Thelower pivot pin 45 of link 43 is hung on two spring-supported posts 46,40, to allow bottle support 19 to yield under excessive strain causedby` -225 naled in ears 5G, 56 ontube 53, each of which has a groove 57inv its periphery normally positioned to receive by Gravity the 'rim ofthe loweststopper 21. The rear ends of shafts 55, 55 are provided withintern'ieshing sectors 58, 59, to the latter of which is pivotallyattached a guiding or actuating rod (30. In action no stopper can get'past shafts 55 except by means of grooves 57. Tube 58, which may besupplemented by auxiliary tube G1, is provided throughout its lengthwith a narrow slot 62, through which pi'oject the handles 52 of thevarious stoppers which fill the tube above shafts The feeding disk 2O isa disk or annular 40 pla'te rotatably inclosed between two stationaryplates 05 and 0G secured tol frame 11 by braces G7,' 07. It is providedwith a series of recesses (S8 (see Fig. for receiving stoppcrs 21 fromtube 53 and con-4 vcying them into position for attachment to thebottles. Narrow slots 69, matching with .slot G2 in tubi` 58, are formedon thel periphery of `disk 20 opposite-each recess G8, through which lahandle 52 may project. As stopper 21 is fed through its last stage tothe head 70, a retainingr arm A7l )ivotally mounted in ears '72, 72 Fig)on liead 70, yields slightly to permit passage oi handle 52 and thencloses to forma com- 55 plete inclosingjring 73 (Figs. '1, 9). The'operation of arm 7l is controlled by a lever 74, pivotally vmountedinthe same ears 72, whose inner end carries a roll 75 adapted to engagesegmental recesses 76,' 76 on the in-l 6o\ner periphery of disk 20, saidengagement being insured by means of-spring 7T. vDui'- ing ,the rotationof disk 20 roll 75 is moved inwardly against the action of spring 77 tocause 'the aforesaid opening of arm 71, while a cap 21 is carried underhead 70. When -holes 88. When rock-arm roll 7 5 reaches the next recess76 the arm 71 closes; and simultaneously disk 20 Stops rotating.

The angular advance of ldisk 20 carries? l each recess 68 forward intothe posit-ion previously occupied by the one ahead, and thus aftereachadvance a stopper loaded from the tube 53 into one recess G8.1 whileanother is fitted to the bottle from the second recess aheadl (Fig. 8),the intermediate recess G8 carrying a 'stopper cn oi/mie. 'if the ma- 1fchine is mishandled that a stopper 21 passes head .70, it will dropthrough a recess (shown by dotted lines in Fig'. 3) in the lower plate6G, and may be caught in a snit.-4 able trough, not shown. ,l y

The intermittent rotation of disk 20 is v caused by a reciprocatingdevice attached to -lower plate 66, described as follows:- Guide 81 isprovided with a suitable recess for receiving a slide plate 82 havingears 83 (Figs.

l2, 3, 4fand 5). Pivotally mounted on' these ears is a swivel block 84,having a rearward projection 85 which acts as a. stop block. Feed lever8G is pivotally mounted on swivel block 84, and carries. at its forwardend the feed pin 87, adapted to engage successively holes 88 in disk 20through curved slot 89 in` plate 60 and guide 81. To swivel block 84 issecured a slotted head 90 in which is pivotally mounted a link 91, theother end ofl which' is pivotally connected at 92 to rockarm 93, pivotedto frame 11 at 94.4 The other end of rock-arm 98 is engaged by cam rod95, connected by adjusting nut 96 to cam slide 97, which carries at itslower end cam roll 98 engaging cam slot 99 in cam 17. Swivel block 84permits pin 87 to follow the hole 88- in its circular path, andstop-block 85 is so shaped-that it prevents the pivotal motion in ears83 from exceeding that necessary for the pin to engage and disengage 98is' pushed rearwardly, feed lever 8G and pin 87 at first oscillate onpivot 100 until stop-block 85 impinges against the under side Vot slideplate 82. This causes disengagement of pin" 87 ;k

which is still guided in curved slot 89 dur1lf ing its backward movementwhich next en` sues. After pin 87 is retracted s iifiiciently toregister with the next hole 88, a forward movement ofv rock-arm 98causes engagenient therewith by 80 and 87 turning about pivot 100.

. To provide a positive lock' for disk 20 during the corking' operation,there is attached to the under side of plate G6 and back of tube 53 acylinder 101, which carries a spring-pressed piston 102 which registerswith and exactly fits recesses 08 in ldisk 20.

In Fig. 2 the linkage is shown in position ready for feeding, with feedpin 87 in one of the holesl 88. At this time piston 102 is drawn down,out of engagementwith the particular recess G8 that registers withy it,

senese .t free to revolve. The withpiston 102 is aceompiished by a i sn'.103 pivot-ed to fi ame 11 at 104C, the lo' er sad of which isadjustably secured to 5 rockeriii 93 by a slotted link 105. As thefeeding operation progresses, 'forward movement of the upright stem ofrock-arm 93 casses an upward movement of the forward arm oii roclnarrn103', thereby releasing piston 102' and allowing its spring 'to press itagainst the under side or disk 2t), there being no recess 138 then inregister. 11s soon as the feed motion is completed the next recess fregisters with piston 102, which is then 'orced into the recess. Thissecurely locks 2Q while the corking operation is in I ess.v Piston 102has a downwardly projiecting stem 110 which is pivotally conneen lutothe forked end of lever 111, fulcrnn'ied at 1121s frame 11, said lever111 b k, pirated at its ether end to actuating not. before mentioned.llinie, every movement which takes place in the head is l y theoperation of the cam 17, inu

harmonious action or" `the different 'tion to the provision at the tootof e links s2, 13, to take 'care of any caused by 6 jamming, it is adtoprovide means 'for relieving the non the linkage for voperating theparts become jammed or .1. on. Referring to Fig. 2, r end of crammed isformed of pieces 115, 116, pivot-ally connected at and normally heldtogether by spring iter-ni the mounting for pin. 119 in if, dering theupward. mo-

o,L cerne-od 95, an obstruction should 'the head meehanism, pin 119would open the jaws 1.15, 115 against the ac- ;t spring 112., and wouldslip inetiectinto the space marked 120. 'This acrend and continuing aslong L thus vpr.swart-ing 1n- .o operation of the head is as follows,reiter-ring to rigs, 3, l1. 9 and 10: Directly over bot... e support.

an. opening 121 in. plate (1G large to permit the 'entrance of the .neckt-tie ld. .las recesses 68 indisk 20 ,rter diameter than the extreme 21,the stopper would drop h this sperling in plate 56 when 1' into registerwith head 'Z0 unless are provided. A recess is .vii around the opening121 a o symmetrical halves 122, 123 forming an inelosing ring whose g issmaller than the diameter of s 'von per fre ine rrhalves are piyoted at124: normally held together by a curved morder to support stopper 21.

recoverinfrJ itself when 19 and under head 70' When the bottle ascends,theneck Ny forces its way between these halves 122, 123, which openagainst spring 125, and presses stopper 21 against a spring plunger 126,in die 22,

whose lower surface is normally iush with the under side of plate 65. Asthe neck N ascends, plunger 126 recedes upward against its spring 127until the parts reach the posi-` tion shown in Fig. 9,-where the stopper21 has partially entered vthe recess left by the ascending plunger i126,and is positioned upon the neck N for the nal stave, shown in Fig. 10.Wire 51 is originally lormed as an incomplete ring of a dlameter tooygreat to enter the plunger recess. When the cap in which this ring isinclosed is pushed upward into this die-recess the tendency is to'vforce the ring downward and .to form it into a ring of smaller diameterbelow the bead b on neck N; and the latter slightly com resses the corkas shown in Fig. 10. e use of the yielding s ring plunger 126v is two-rfold irst it a ords pressure on the top surface of stopper 21,sustaining it'during the forming of wire 51 around bead ,ln-thuscompelling a yclose it of the cork-Wafer upon the bottle top; and,second, it expels the corked bottle and overcomes the gripjof thedistended halves 122, 123 upon the corked bott-le. l. 'v .i

Special attention is directedl to the-l slot 69. By making thisslotnarrow and a reasonably close lit for-thefstem of a handle.

52, the stopper is led forward by the engagementof its handle in'thisfslot, rather than pushed by the walls o reeessS4 in which the bodyof the caprlies. This maintains the proper position'of handle 52 withreference to head 70; prevents the 'arm 71 from closing upon handle 52and clamping it,

which might happen if said handle was angularly displaced a little fromits intended position; andin general assures a uniform and. free passageof vcaps to thebottle without their becoming jammed on the way.

ln vthe claims the bottle sealing mechanism is referred to asstationary, meaning by this that it does not move about laterally, butstands and operates in one osition, although of course it is not utter ydevoid-of motion in said position, and its parts'perform their mot-ionsof compression etc. with respect to each other hereinbefore described.In thisA respect the distinction is made between this apparatus andmachines which have heretofore4 been proposed. in which the compressingmechanism as a whole moves about the machine.

1 claim.: 1..-Feeding mechanism, comprising the combination of areservoir for Stoppers with adapted'toadmit a single stopper and byrotation convey itthrough between them, said rotation being in thedirection in which the stopper is conveyed. y

2. Feeding mechanism, comprising the combination of. a reservoir 'forStoppers; two rotatable barriers set under the dis` charge thereof,having recesses adapted to admit a single stopper; and means to oscil-'late the barriers on their axes, moving the recesses across the medialline between the axes.

3. The combination of vertically actin r means for compressing togethera bottle and a stopper, with 'an intervening horizontally moving carrierfor Stoppers bringing stoppers successively into position in the line ofaction of said compressing means, said car# rier having a multiplicityof stopper-holders moving successively into said position.

4. The combination of a stationarybottle stand and a sealing headvertically over it and means to press these two together, with a diskpivoted on a vertical axis and having a circle of perforations eachadapted indiplane thereof.

' action of the pressing means.

vidually to receive a stopper, said disk projecting between the bottlestand and sealing head with its circle of peiforati-ons intersecting theline of action thereof; and means to rotate the disk step by step,carrying the perforations successively into said line of 5. Thecombination, with bottle closing mechanism, of a carrier disk havingrecesses for Stoppers, and narrow openings there- *from to the exteriorallowing a handle on the stopper to project from the disk in the G. Thecombination, with bottle closing mechanism, of a carrier disk havingperforations for stoppcrs, and a stationary support lthei'eunder for thestoppers; there being anarrow opening from each perforation to theexterior, forming' a lug for dragging Stoppers on said support to saidmechanism.

7. 'The combination, with stationary bottle closing mechanism and alcarrier conveying Stoppers successively thereto, and having pockets ofcapacity for one. stopper at a time; of a reservoir for stoppers, andmeans se'paratin the reservoir from the carrier and feeding Stopperstherefrom to the carthrough said late.

rier one at a time.

8. The combination, with stationaryfbottle closing mechanism, of arotary plate .having a succession' of stopper carrier perforations, andmeansl to bring the perforations successively into register with lsaidmechanism; there being access for Stoppers to the perforations on oneside of said plate and final delivery of yStoppers therefrom on theopposite side, the Stoppers thus `passing 9. The com ination withstationary bottle closing mechanism, a rotary disk pierced with asuccession of perforations for conveying Stoppers; and confining plateson each side of the disk, there being an opening t through one plate foradmission of Stoppers, and an opening through the other plate fordischarge thereof.-

10. The" combination of bottle closing mechanism with a stationary platehaving an opening over the bottle stand, and a rotary plate above it,having pockets and peripheral slits 4suitable to receive handledStoppers and convey them along the surface ofthe under plate to theopening therein.

11. The combination of stationary bottle closing mechanism adapted tohold abottle in vertical position; an adjacent supply reservoir ofStoppers adapted to discharge i ,having perforations for Stoppers; ahorizontal plate thereunder, supporting the sto-ppers, having an openingover the bottle stand and 'means normally sustaining a stopper therein,and a subsequent opening beyond the bottle'stand affording free passagefor Stoppers.

14. The combination, with bottle closing mechanism, of feed mechanismfor Stoppers, comprising a stationary member and a carricr movingthereby having a. succession of equally spaced pockets for Stoppers;meansI to advance it intermittently; and a tapered springbolt passingthrough the stationary member into the pockets, locking the same .inregister with the bottle closing mechanism, there being a lost motionconnection to the intermittent feed withdrawing the bolt when the nextadvance commences.

15. Feed mechanism, comprising the combination of a rotary carrier disk,having a succession of bolt holes; an actuating pin adjacent, parallelto the holes and reciprocating-in a straight line; therebein'g a linkpivoted thereon, a bolt on the link, fitting the holes, and a stationaryplate adjacent,l having a slot through which the boltlpasses -curvcd inthe line of travel `of said holes;

whereby the rectilinear actuation of .the pin effects curvilinearreciprocation .of the bolt..

- I 16. ,Feed mechanism, comprising a* feed- 1,39"

tion, followed by 'sliding en the ways, thus actuating the latchinitially by the same drive motion which constitutes vthe feed.

17. The combination of a stationary bottle stand and a sealing headvertically over it and means toppress these two together; a reservoirfor bottle Stoppers adjacent having a passage discharging therefromvertically downward; a carrier for Stoppers having means to receivestoppers individually from said discharge passage; means to guide thecarrier horizontally, the carrier passing ybctween said bottle standand'seali'ng head; said carrier having a multiplicity of stopper holdersarranged and adapted to register With said reservoir and also With saidpress- `ing means; said pressing'means comprising means to lift thebottle stand toward the sealing head, thereby, when a bottle is inplace, lifting a stopperfrom the carrier'into the sealing head; andmeans to move the carrier step by step intermittently in one direction,stopping intermittently with two'of its pockets registeringrespectivelyA with said reservoir and pressing means.

18. The combination, in bottle Aclosing mechanism, of a stationary headfor cornpressing a stopper upon a bottle; a carrie-r for Stoppershorizontally entering the head; and a split ring yclose below the head,one portion' thereof being pivoted on the machine, and there being asuccession of cams upon the carrier Vswinging 'said ring member open andclosed as cach stopper carrying portion of the carrier-enters under saidhead.

In testimony whereof lhereto aliix my signature, in 12th day of April,1907,

GEORG M. C.- NIELSEN.

Witnesses:

FREDERICK L. PERKINS, EvEnn'r'r E. KENT.

presence of tvio Witnesses this v

